"Alright." Lucina walked over to Olivia and leaned over her. "I'll be inside if you need anything."

"Okay," Olivia replied before leaning up and giving Lucina a quick kiss on the lips.

"!?!" Margaret was frozen like a statue while Cassandra almost spat out her tea in surprise before shooting death glares at Lucina.

Lucina gave Cassandra a snarky grin before turning to leave, "Have a good time~."

"…" Cassandra waited for Lucina to leave before speaking yet still hesitated when she saw the heartwarming smile on Olivia's face. Olivia was completely relaxed and appeared fine with the situation. This wasn't what she was imagining their reunion would entail. "Olivia…" She couldn't just watch. "If the Countess is forcing you to accept her using the collar's commands, blink twice!"

"…Huh?" Olivia was caught off-guard by Cassandra's sudden outburst.

"If not, then recite Lady Alm's five virtues!"

"…What?" Olivia unconsciously blinked twice while trying to comprehend what Cassandra was saying.

Cassandra slammed her hands on the table, stood up, and shouted, "I knew it!"

Cassandra's outburst brought Margaret out of her stupor, and she clarified, "What Lady Cassandra means is: now that the Countess is gone, you don't have to force yourself to appear fine, Lady Olivia."

"…But I'm not forcing myself?" Olivia said and cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"That's exactly what someone under the orders of a slave collar would say!" Cassandra countered. She puffed out her cheeks, and continued, "I've read accounts about magic slave collars and this is a textbook example of advanced coercive acceptance!"

"Ahaha…" Olivia awkwardly laughed as she swore she saw fire burning behind Cassandra's eyes. She looked to Margaret for help but found none as Margaret was giving Olivia a sympathetic look as she also believed what Cassandra was saying.

"That traitorous vixen!" Cassandra spat off to the side in disgust.

"Cassandra…" Olivia muttered as her mood started to shift while listening to her friend badmouth Lucina.

But Cassandra was too upset to notice, and continued, "Trapping you in a room for weeks like some kind of trophy? And now she's showing you off to us while you can't even voice your own opinion? She's revolting and-"

"Enough!" Olivia shouted and brought the whole garden to silence.

"…" Mary tensed up as she stood off to the side and the other maids also shifted uncomfortably as the atmosphere took a sharp dive. Margaret and Cassandra stared in disbelief at Olivia who was clenching her teacup with shaking hands.

"That's…enough." Olivia's voice wavered between hurt and anger as she fought to control her emotions. She wasn't foolish enough to believe her friends would accept her feelings for Lucina without question, but having to hear Cassandra badmouth Lucina pushed Olivia further than she was willing to let slide. Silence continued to suffocate the gathering, until Olivia forced out her thoughts, "I know…it's hard to believe, but I really am not under any orders. Lucina's never used the collar outside of the graduation dance when she first put it on me." Her mouth was dry and no amount of sipping her tea helped. "Lucina's done everything she can to keep me safe and even lets me send letters to you both and my family. So…" Olivia trailed off when she looked up from her tea to see the horrified look Margaret and Cassandra were giving her.

Cassandra was the first to speak, "Why…are you defending her?" She pressed Olivia for answers to the absurdity of her words. "She betrayed us! Betrayed you! We had a plan and she went behind our back to do…this!" She gestured to the slave collar, and Olivia's somber expression only fueled Cassandra's bewilderment. "Why would you defend her if you're not under a command from the slave collar!?"

"…Because my heart is an ugly mess," Olivia half-heartedly muttered as she forced a smile on her face.

Cassandra was reeling from the implications of Olivia's words, so Margaret asked, "Do you… honestly love Countess Sanguine?" The air was tense enough to be cut with a knife.

"…Yes," Olivia replied.

"Oh for the love of-…" Cassandra collapsed into her chair and ran an annoyed hand through her hair. Margaret swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to drink some tea but couldn't force it to go down.

Olivia continued while a tender smile crept across her face, "I know…that it's bad."

"That's putting it lightly," Cassandra muttered, but Olivia ignored the interruption.

"But…I can't help myself." Olivia never told Margaret or Cassandra about her past life and was finding it hard to properly explain herself. She scratched her cheek and tried, "Lucina has a strong…strange way of showing it, but she does love me and is doing this to help me." Before Cassandra could interject, Olivia cut her off by saying, "Aside from keeping me safe from James' assassins, Lucina's never forced me to do anything and has always backed off if I push her away. The fact that she was able to lift my Royal Grace so quickly shows how dedicated she is to me and that…makes me feel good. And now that it's taken care of she's even helping me meet with you both and takes me around the city…" Olivia reminisced about the time she's been spending with Lucina and the lustful nights they spent together, causing her face to blush.

"…" Cassandra had to look away from Olivia's blushing face as she couldn't stomach the sight.

Margaret spoke up to try and further understand the situation, "His Highness sent assassins after you?"

"Yes," Olivia admitted and did her best to control her expression. "I couldn't leave the mansion because he had his shadow knights stationed around the city waiting for Lucina to slip up. Either I died while out in the open, or he finds some excuse to use Royal Grace and take me back to deal with me back in the capital." She looked over to Cassandra, who was pouting, and reasoned, "Even if we went through with the original plan, it wouldn't have worked; James wanted me dead for a while… The only reason he had me enslaved was because Lucina convinced him it was better to 'humiliate' me than just kill me, otherwise…" Again, her words trailed off but the unspoken implication wasn't lost on anyone.

"…Agh!" Cassandra ran both her hands through her hair out of frustration and her drills shook angrily. "None of this would have happened if His Highness was even half a competent person!" She didn't care that her words were slander against the imperial family, so she kept going, "You and I had great reputations in the social world! The biggest merchant company in Arlexia is at your beck and call! And while I'm loathe to admit it, Countess Sanguine is the Harbinger of Zulm and a national war hero who idolizes you! You had all the makings of a great empress, but that man threw it away chasing the Saintess' skirt tails!" She downed her cup of tea with a single gulp and brought down the teacup hard on the table.

"Speaking of…" Olivia wanted to move away from insulting Lucina. "I know the wedding was held for the four male le-… for those four…but I only recently started going out around Solfin so I'm behind on the current news. How is the Saintess doing as the crown princess?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Your guess is as good as mine, or anyone in the Empire's for that matter," Cassandra replied with a heavy sigh as she looked annoyed by the topic.

Olivia turned to Margaret with a confused expression, so Margaret explained, "Saintess Beatrice hasn't been seen since the wedding."

"…At all?" Olivia cocked an eyebrow at the news as she thought Beatrice would live happily with the male leads.

"At all," Margaret affirmed. "I dealt with some of Lady Alm's clergy who came from the capital, a few days ago, and they mentioned that they were refused at the palace gates to meet with her despite her being a Saintess of Lady Alm."

"The nobles haven't fared any better," Cassandra properly joined the conversation, and relayed Olivia the news, "Tea party invitations are all being rejected, meetings that required her presence are being postponed or canceled, and no one's seen a single strand of her green hair anywhere around the palace. The only reason we know she's still at the palace is because no one ever saw her leave."

"…Really?" The game never went into what happened after the reverse-harem ending's art of her marrying the four male leads, but this seemed a far cry from the 'happy ending' that was implied by the graphic.

Cassandra offhandedly remarked, "Though, the imperial family's most likely keeping her hidden to keep her safe what with all the unrest in the capital over the supply shortages that are still ongoing, as well as the death of Solomon Kor."

"Solomon's dead!?" Olivia's eyes widened in surprise at the news of one of the male leads being dead so soon after the ending. "How did he die!?"

"You didn't know?" Margaret asked.

"…?" Olivia gave her friends a confused look that pleaded for answers.

Cassandra cautiously explained, "It happened up in Lorn, under Countess Sanguine's watch. Did she not tell you?"

"…" Olivia remained silent.

"Well…" Cassandra hesitated for a moment before going into detail. "It turns out, Elder Solomon wasn't even a real clergy; he was a wizard."

"A wizard!?" That information wasn't in the game. His profile clearly stated he was an Elder of Alm.

"Yes, he used magic stones hidden in his jewelry to fake being blessed by Lady Alm to use magic and rose through the ranks to Elder. R'eldrun is in an uproar over finding any others using such methods and, last I heard, four people have already been executed. This was only found out after Countess Sanguine witnessed his death at the maws of demons where he couldn't fend them off after losing his rings."

"He was…killed by demons?" A thought crossed Olivia's mind as the memory of Solomon's ending danced through her mind.

"The official story is that he went ahead during the expedition and was ambushed by a pack of demons." Cassandra's eyes watched Olivia's face start to twist. "The Countess couldn't make it in time with her Hellhound knights but they were all there to witness-"

"Pfft!" Olivia couldn't contain her laugh or fully hide her smile behind her hand, and a chilling air descended on the gathering. It was obvious to Olivia what really happened and instead of being appalled by the act, she couldn't help but find the irony of Solomon dying the exact way he killed Olivia in his ending to be funny.

"…" Margaret and Cassandra were silent as they watched Olivia control herself.

"…Sorry." Olivia forced out an apology.

"Y-You don't ha-" Margaret tried to brush it aside.

But Olivia pressed, "I'm sorry…I'm not the same as I used to be." The smile wouldn't leave her face despite knowing how morbid she appeared after hearing of someone's death. Olivia bitterly held her cup as she stared at her reflection in the tea. Even she was having trouble recognizing the person that stared back at her.

"…Of course, you're not the same, no one would be after going through what you did," Cassandra declared after eating a strawberry jam cookie. When Olivia lifted her head, Cassandra matched her gaze and said, "I would be more concerned if everything that's happened didn't affect you; for better or worse. At least you're aware of yourself." She paused to collect her thoughts and gave a frustrated sigh while shaking her head. "Even if I don't like it, the fact that you're alive looking as healthy as you do while having the freedom to enjoy tea with Margaret and me is a testament to Countess Sanguine's…generosity." She had to force the word out of her throat and looked disgusted the whole time. "She…cares…" It was obvious Cassandra was struggling to say something nice about Lucina.

"…Ahaha!" And Olivia couldn't help but laugh. It was a heartfelt, joyful laugh that resonated through the garden and eased the mood of the gathering and its guests. "Lucina should be honored to receive such praise from you, Cassandra."

"As she should!" Cassandra declared and nibbled on another cookie while relaxing in her chair. "Even if I'll refuse to say so to her face!"

"A rare occurrence, to begin with," Margaret concluded while sipping her tea.

"I give plenty of compliments!" Cassandra countered and the atmosphere continued to brighten as the women started to banter back and forth with each other. The sun shone brightly in the sky as the three laughed and talked like they used to during simpler times. A warm breeze wove through the gazebo and rustled Olivia's hair causing her to look around and see Tress approaching them.

"Lady Olivia," Tress greeted and bowed when she reached the table. "While the Countess wasn't able to deliver it to you earlier, there is a letter from Wortrest for you." She extended the letter in her hands out to Olivia.

"There is?" Olivia happily asked and took the letter; the Ordrin seal held it closed.

"Look at her trying to win points while you're enjoying yourself with us," Cassandra scoffed and waved a hand through her hair to jostle her hair drills. "Cheap tricks."

"That's why they work," Olivia laughed as she broke the seal and opened the letter.

"Well?" Cassandra asked as Olivia's eyes scanned over the paper. "What news does Duke Ordrin bri-" Olivia dropped the letter and allowed it to flutter to the ground. "…Oli-" Olivia picked up a butter knife, turned the blade toward herself, and attempted to stab her stomach. "Olivia!?" Cassandra's terrified cry pierced the air.

"My Lady!?!" Mary immediately stepped forward and grabbed Olivia's arm which held the knife to try and stop her. "What are you doing!?!"

"Lady Olivia!?!" Tress grabbed Olivia's other arm when Olivia reached up, brought her hands together, and continued to try and stab herself. "Drop the knife!"

"…" Olivia's face held a blank expression and there was no light in her eyes, as if in a trance.

"O-Olivia!?" Cassandra was terrified as she watched the two maids try to manhandle the knife away from Olivia and tears started pouring down her cheeks. Margaret was speechless but managed to regain enough composure to get up from her seat and turn to go get Lucina.

"Olivia!?!" But Lucina was already on her way. After hearing Cassandra's cry, Lucina jumped out the window of the parlor, kicked off her high heels, and ran across the grass to the gazebo. When she was close enough, she shouted, "I rescind all active orders!" Light erupted from the magic symbol on the back of her hand as the slave collar resonated with her command.

"!?!" The light returned to Olivia's eyes and she immediately let go of the knife which clattered onto the ground. Olivia collapsed to the floor, Mary and Tress still holding her arms, and started hyperventilating as she was once more in control of her body. Her throat went dry and she alternated between gasping for air and swallowing her spit. The cup of tea she was drinking spilled onto the table and the tea was making its way to the edge. Rhythmically, the tea dripped off the side of the table and onto the wood floor of the gazebo. Drip. Drip.

"What's going on!?" Lucina shouted as she finally reached the gazebo. Todd and Kent were close behind and stared in horror at the scene. Lucina glared at Tress, demanding answers.

"I-I don't know, Countess!" Tress hadn't felt death loom over her like this since Lucina butchered the Rolf family. She got on her hands and knees and bowed before Lucina who was glaring down at her. "I brought the letter from the Ordrin family to try and further brighter Lady Olivia's spirits. I do not know what happened! I swear!"

"…" Lucina's eyes drilled into Tress for a few more seconds before finally moving over to the discarded letter that was on the ground. Slowly, she knelt down and picked it up. Normally, Lucina didn't read the letters Olivia exchanged with her family since she wanted to respect Olivia's privacy and believed that no harm would come of it. Now, however? "…This is James' handwriting." The letter was an order for Olivia to harm herself. The magic of a slave collar was intricate enough that any order by a designated individual had to be followed; even a written one so long as it was personally penned by the individual. Lucina made sure to go through any pieces of paper that Olivia would read in case something like this happened, but she was blindsided because of the sender.

"There's…no way…" Cassandra found her voice. "That's…the Duke's seal, though!" The wax seal that adorned the letter was unmistakably the Ordrin's. "The Duke would never do this to Olivia!"

"You're right," Lucina agreed with a low, oddly calm voice. "Duke Ordrin would never do this…but there is someone with access to the family's seal that would."

Olivia flinched at Lucina's words, and muttered, "Derik…"

"To his own sister!?" Cassandra shouted in disbelief.

"The Duke and Duchess are the only ones I told the method for how to send Olivia letters." Lucina folded the letter and summoned a flame in her hand to burn it, but after a moment of hesitation decided against it and instead simply held onto the letter. She had other uses for such evidence. "The servants probably saw the Duke or Duchess depositing their letters, and Derik most likely found out through their gossip."

Margaret swallowed a lump in her throat, and asked, "Would the young Duke…really…?" For Olivia's sake, she didn't want to think Derik would do such a thing. Even if he did turn his back on Olivia for Beatrice, she believed that some lines wouldn't be crossed.

"…" Lucina clenched her fist and started to mutter, "I need to go and-"

"No!" But Olivia suddenly reached out and grabbed Lucina by her dress with trembling hands. "Don't go! Don't leave!" Her heart raced in her chest and her body was violently shaking. Her mind churned dark thoughts. The tea continued to drip off the table. Drip. Drip. "Don't leave me!... Please!" Tick. Tock.

"…I'm not going anywhere," Lucina lied and gently started patting Olivia on the back to calm her down while her other hand stroked Olivia's cheek. She hated lying to Olivia but now was an exception. "I meant I was going to go back inside to discuss what to do next with Todd and Kent since they're our allies."

"R-Really?" Drip. Drip.

"Really." Tick. Tock. "Besides, you still have a lot to do with Cassandra and Margaret so how could I leave the mansion? The top playwright at Hudson's Theater is holding the premier of their latest work that Cassandra wanted to take you to and got Margaret to get tickets." Lucina glanced over to the two women with an expectant look in her eyes. "Right?"

"…That's right!" Cassandra played along, did her best to look upbeat, and offered her hand to help Olivia to her feet. "There's still some time before the play, but let's go into the city. I've never been to Solfin so I'll leave it to you to show us the best spots for some quick shopping!"

"Shopping?" Olivia took Cassandra's hand and shakily got to her feet. "Ah… Alright." Her smile was awkward and forced. She turned back to Lucina, and desperately asked, "You'll be here when I come back?" Although it was a question, the tone of voice sounded like a command.

"Of course," Lucina smiled and handed Olivia off to Margaret who came over to help guide the still unsteady Olivia. "I'll have the maids clean up this mess, so go and enjoy yourself! Spend as much as you want and I'll look forward to your review of the play at dinner. Everyone's invited, so make sure to come back together so we can all enjoy the lavish dinner the cooks will prepare."

"…Okay." Olivia was hesitant to leave, and easily saw through Lucina's lie, but allowed herself to be tricked by it since she knew Lucina was doing it with good intentions.

"…" Lucina kept the smile on her face until Olivia, Margaret, and Cassandra were out of sight. "That worthless mutt." Once they were gone, Lucina's face instantly froze over with hatred and her eyes fell to the letter in her hand.

"Countess?" Todd was hesitant to speak as he'd never seen Lucina's anger before, and Kent wisely kept his mouth shut.

"I apologize," Lucina unapologetically said, "But I'll need to step out for a short while. Please help yourselves to any alcohol until I get back."

"Where are you going?" Todd asked as he watched Lucina head toward the mansion.

In a voice that overflowed with hostility, Lucina simply replied, "To go tell Duke Ordrin to control his damned dog!"